It all ended much quicker than he could have imagined, said Richter, who figured his "Tonight" job was "as good as it gets in show business."

He said he figured "I'm a tenured professor of show business now," but quickly learned otherwise. "I guess I'm really good at getting kicked off the air, because it's what I've been doing for the last 10 years."

Ripa had a suggestion for his next career move.

"You and Conan should do another show on another network called 'We Were on The Tonight Show,' " she joked. "Wouldn't that be exciting!"